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[Breaking News]Diplomatic spat between Japan and China

BEIJING, China, Nov. 17 Kyodo - Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Nov. 17, 2025, to hold talks with Chinese officials, amid an intensifying diplomatic spat triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on the situation in Taiwan. (Kyodo)

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

BEIJING, China, Nov. 18 Kyodo - Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, are pictured after their talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency. (Kyodo)

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai (front, L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong (front, R), are pictured after their talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai (L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, are pictured after their talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai (L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, are pictured after their talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai (L), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and his Chinese counterpart, Liu Jinsong, are pictured after their talks at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, leaves his lodging in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, before talks with his Chinese counterpart amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Japan, China senior officials hold talks

Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, leaves his lodging in Beijing on Nov. 18, 2025, before talks with his Chinese counterpart amid escalating tensions between the two countries over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency.

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Diplomatic spat between Japan and China

Masaaki Kanai, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Nov. 17, 2025, to hold talks with Chinese officials, amid an intensifying diplomatic spat triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on the situation in Taiwan.

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Japan-China meeting on maritime issues

Hiroyuki Namazu (L), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, and his counterpart Hong Liang of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs at China's Foreign Ministry, shake hands as they hold a working-level meeting on maritime issues in Tokyo on Oct. 23, 2024.

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Essay, short video competition held in Tunisia to honor ties with China

STORY: Essay, short video competition held in Tunisia to honor ties with China SHOOTING TIME: May 20, 2024 DATELINE: May 21, 2024 LENGTH: 00:01:04 LOCATION: Tunis CATEGORY: POLITICS/CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of the award ceremony STORYLINE: The Chinese Embassy in Tunisia held an essay and short video competition to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Hundreds of people from Tunisia's diplomatic, cultural, media, and industrial spheres participated in an award ceremony on Monday. China's Ambassador to Tunisia Wan Li said that China and Tunisia support each other's choice of development path and use practical actions to show that "we know each other no matter how far we are." Slim Ghariani, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry's director general of the Department of Asian and Oceanian States, said that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries has a solid historical foundation and has yielded fruitful results over

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Japan, U.S., S. Korea envoys

(From L) Takehiro Funakoshi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, pose for photos in Seoul on April 7, 2023.

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U.S. envoy Davies

TOKYO, Japan - Glyn Davies (L), U.S. special representative for North Korean policy, and Junichi Ihara, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, shake hands before talks in Tokyo on Jan. 30, 2014. (Pool photo)

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U.S. senior diplomat Kim meets with reporters in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Sung Kim (R), U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, speaks to reporters at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 8, 2014, after meeting with Junichi Ihara, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. Kim visited Tokyo after meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, South Korea.

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Japan, U.S. senior diplomats meet in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Junichi Ihara (R), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, shakes hands with Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, on Dec. 8, 2014, at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. Kim visited Tokyo after meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, South Korea. (Pool photo)

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Japan takes up indictment of Sankei reporter in talks with S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Nov. 27, 2014, after talks with Lee Sang Deok, head of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau of South Korea's Foreign Ministry. Ihara said the Japanese side took up the indictment of a Japanese reporter accused of slandering the South Korean president in the talks, calling the action "extremely regrettable."

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Japan takes up indictment of Sankei reporter in talks with S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara (R), head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Nov. 27, 2014, after talks with Lee Sang Deok, head of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau of South Korea's Foreign Ministry. Ihara said the Japanese side took up the indictment of a Japanese reporter accused of slandering the South Korean president in the talks, calling the action "extremely regrettable."

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PM Abe receives reports from Ihara about talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 30, 2014, after being briefed by Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry. Ihara returned to Tokyo earlier in the day from North Korea, where he met for two days with North Korean officials about Pyongyang's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago.

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PM Abe receives reports from Ihara about talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Oct. 30, 2014, after being briefed by Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry. Ihara returned to Tokyo earlier in the day from North Korea, where he met for two days with North Korean officials about Pyongyang's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago.

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Foreign Ministry's Ihara returns from N. Korea

NARITA, Japan - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, arrives at Narita International Airport, northeast of Tokyo, on Oct. 30, 2014, after two-day talks with North Korean officials about Pyongyang's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago.

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Japanese mission heads home after talks with N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is seen at Pyongyang's international airport on Oct. 30, 2014, before heading home, wrapping up a four-day visit to North Korea aimed at scrutinizing the country's investigation into the fates of Japanese nationals it abducted decades ago.

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Japan, N. Korea hold talks on 2nd day

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (C), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, attends talks on the second of two days of discussions with North Korean officials on Oct. 29, 2014, in Pyongyang, to hear about the remains of Japanese who died around the end of World War II in what is now North Korea. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan urges N. Korea to advance probe into abductees

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, meets with reporters in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, following the first round of talks with North Korean officials. Tokyo demanded that Pyongyang put the highest priority on advancing its investigation into the fates of Japanese abductees. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and So Tae Ha (C), chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, head for their meeting in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, as the two countries launched two days of talks in the North Korean capital on the abduction issue. Ihara leads a Japanese government mission dispatched to North Korea for the first time since November 2004. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (C), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, holds talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, on the North's investigation into Japanese nationals abducted decades ago. At the outset of a two-day meeting, Ihara said, "The abduction issue is the most important issue for Japan."

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (far R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and So Tae Ha (far L), chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, launch their two days of talks on the abduction issue in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014. Ihara leads a Japanese government mission dispatched to North Korea for the first time since November 2004. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and So Tae Ha (C), chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, head for their meeting in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, as the two countries launched two days of talks in the North Korean capital on the abduction issue. Ihara leads a Japanese government mission dispatched to North Korea for the first time since November 2004. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, shakes hands with So Tae Ha, chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, as the two countries launched two days of talks in the North Korean capital on the abduction issue. Ihara leads a Japanese government mission dispatched to North Korea for the first time since November 2004. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, holds talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014, on the North's investigation into Japanese nationals abducted decades ago. At the outset of a two-day meeting, Ihara said, "The abduction issue is the most important issue for Japan." (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan, N. Korea begin talks on abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Members of a Japanese government delegation led by Junichi Ihara (far R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, hold talks with So Tae Ha (far L), chairman of North Korea's special investigation committee into the whereabouts of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, and other North Korean officials in Pyongyang on Oct. 28, 2014. So, who also serves as vice minister of state security, is expected to explain Pyongyang's investigation during a two-day meeting until the following day. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan mission in N. Korea to scrutinize abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is surrounded by reporters after arriving in Pyongyang on Oct. 27, 2014. During its four-day visit, a Japanese delegation led by Ihara aims to assess North Korea's investigation into the fates of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago.

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Japan mission in N. Korea to scrutinize abduction probe

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Junichi Ihara (L), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is welcomed by a senior North Korean official as he arrives in Pyongyang on Oct. 27, 2014. During its four-day visit, a Japanese delegation led by Ihara aims to assess North Korea's investigation into the fates of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago.

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Japanese diplomat en route to Pyongyang

BEIJING, China - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, leaves a Beijing hotel to head for Pyongyang on Oct. 27, 2014. Ihara leads a delegation of Japanese officials who will make a four-day visit to the North Korean capital aimed at assessing the North's investigation into the fates of Japanese nationals abducted decades ago.

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Japanese delegation leaves for Pyongyang

NARITA, Japan - Junichi Ihara, director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, leaves Narita International Airport, northeast of Tokyo, on Oct. 26, 2014, for talks with North Korean officials to assess Pyongyang's investigation into the fate of Japanese nationals it abducted decades ago. A Japanese delegation led by Ihara will hold discussions with North Korea's special investigation committee in Pyongyang on Oct. 28 and 29.

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Japan protests S. Korea's indictment of Japanese journalist

TOKYO, Japan - A car carrying Kim Won Jin, minister at the South Korean Embassy in Japan, leaves Japan's Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 9, 2014, after Junichi Ihara, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a protest over South Korea's indictment of the former Seoul bureau chief of a Japanese newspaper. Seoul prosecutors the previous day indicted Tatsuya Kato, 48, of the Sankei Shimbun, for allegedly defaming President Park Geun Hye in an article about her whereabouts on the day of a deadly ferry accident in April.

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Japan, U.S. affirm tie-ups in Tokyo's dealings with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Glyn Davies (L), United States special representative for North Korea policy, and Junichi Ihara, director general of Japan's Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, shake hands prior to their talks at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 2, 2014. They agreed to continue coordination over Tokyo's dealings with North Korea. (Pool photo by Mainichi Shimbun)

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Japan gets no promise from N. Korea over abduction probe

SHENYANG, China - Song Il Ho, North Korean ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, meets with reporters following talks with Junichi Ihara, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, in Shenyang, China, on Sept. 29, 2014. Ihara said he urged the North Korean side to release the findings without delay, but when that will happen is still undecided.

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Japan gets no promise from N. Korea over abduction probe

SHENYANG, China - Junichi Ihara, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, meets with reporters following talks with Song Il Ho, North Korean ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, in Shenyang, China, on Sept. 29, 2014. Ihara said he urged the North Korean side to release the findings without delay, but when that will happen is still undecided.

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Japan urges N. Korea to release abduction probe findings

SHENYANG, China - Combined photo shows Junichi Ihara (R), head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, and Song Il Ho, North Korean ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan. During their meeting in Shenyang, China, on Sept. 29, 2014, Ihara urged Song to release without delay the findings of a special investigation committee into the fates of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang.

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Japan diplomat leaves Tokyo for talks with N. Korea

TOKYO, Japan - Junichi Ihara, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry, leaves Narita International Airport, northeast of Tokyo, on Sept. 28, 2014, for talks with Song Il Ho, North Korean ambassador for negotiations to normalize relations with Japan, in Shenyang, China.

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Japan-S. Korea talks in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is surrounded by reporters as he leaves South Korea's Foreign Ministry in Seoul on July 23, 2014, after talks with Lee Sang Deok, head of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau of the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

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Japan-S. Korea talks in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is surrounded by reporters as he leaves South Korea's Foreign Ministry in Seoul on July 23, 2014, after talks with Lee Sang Deok, head of the Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau of the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

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Top diplomats from Japan, S. Korea hold meeting

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, enters the South Korean Foreign Ministry in Seoul on July 23, 2014, for a new round of talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Sang Deok.

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S. Korea, Japan to hold talks on wartime sexual slavery

SEOUL, South Korea - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, arrives at Seoul's Gimpo airport on July 23, 2014, for talks with Lee Sang Deok, director general of the Northeast Asian affairs bureau of South Korea's Foreign Ministry, on bilateral issues such as Korean women forced to serve at brothels for the wartime Japanese military.

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Japan, S. Korea vow cooperation on N. Korea nuclear programs

TOKYO, Japan - Hwang Joon Kook (L), South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, shake hands at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on July 16, 2014, prior to their talks. They agreed to strengthen bilateral and trilateral coordination with the United States on reining in North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs. (Pool photo by Jiji Press)

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Japan-North Korea talks

NARITA AIRPORT, Japan - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is pictured at Narita airport, near Tokyo, on June 30, 2014, before leaving for Beijing to attend Japan-North Korea intergovernmental talks the following day.

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Japan, N. Korea envoys mull abduction issue in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Junichi Ihara (extreme R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Song Il Ho (L), North Korea's ambassador for talks to normalize relations with Japan, meet in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 26, 2014, to discuss the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents.

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Japan, N. Korea envoys exchange views at Stockholm meet

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Junichi Ihara (R), director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for talks to normalize relations with Japan, exchange views during their meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 26, 2014.

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Japanese diplomat Ihara

NARITA, Japan - Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, is seen at Narita airport, near Tokyo, on May 29, 2014, after returning from Sweden where he held talks with North Korean officials.

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Japan, N. Korea fail to reach accord on abduction issue

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Song Il Ho, North Korea's ambassador for talks to normalize relations with Japan, speaks to reporters in Stockholm on May 28, 2014, after the end of three-day talks with Junichi Ihara, director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry. The two countries failed to reach agreement on the reinvestigation of the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea but agreed to continue talks on the abductions and other issues of interest.